Blog:Kellogg under fire for "double entendre" in Pop Tarts ad

Ads are commonly a bone of contention in this industry, with food manufacturers regularly coming under fire for what they believe is creative use of media.

Kellogg has found itself in hot water in the US after campaign group OneMillionMoms branded its latest Pop Tarts advert offensive.

The group, which endeavours to "stop the exploitation" of children via media channels, has said the latest ad features a "double entendre that is inappropriate and unnecessary".

The animated commercial shows parent Pop Tarts gushing over their newborn until a nurse enters, rubbing her hands together ready to devour the baby Pop Tart and saying, "Time for a feeding." The parents say, "No! Ah, Jam It!"

"Foul language or the implication of it is not needed in this commercial, but that is exactly what Kellogg's intended with their play on words," say the group. The advertisement could have ended with "No!" but Kellogg's chose to include a phrase that sounded just like a curse word," the group criticised in a statement on its website.

The group launches a further attack saying execs at the cereal firm "apparently don't care about what children hear as long as it puts money in their pockets".

"This is weak marketing, and Kellogg's should have the corporate responsibility to not use an age old euphemism that offends families."

A spokesperson for Kellogg told just-food it respected different viewpoints but insisted it is "an industry leader in responsible marketing" and is "proud of our commitment to the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative". It added: "This campaign clearly follows those guidelines. It only appears in media where the vast majority of the audience is 12 years of age or older."

However, it appears audiences are split when it comes to reactions to the ad. The #ahjamit hashtag has already started trending on Twitter, with one user posting "The PB&J poptart commercial cracks me up every time".

We're with Kellogg on this one - it seems there definitely are "many opinions on creative advertising".

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